every-blest-thing-seeing eye

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A closed accordion book held shut by a length-wise paper wrapper.

From a compact, 3-inch by 7-inch rectangle wrapped in a brown Cave Paper band, this accordion book unfolds into a visual feast of images, die-cut windows, and text, all printed letterpress. The publisher describes the book as “imagin[ing] the varied experiences of viewing artworks in a gallery. [...] When an Ojibwe poet [Heid E. Erdrich] acts as curator, her statements on the work of indigenous artists become part of a larger telling, a non-linear narrative in which characters and emblems, just like the artists who create them, cannot be fully fathomed. And yet, we must look. We must see every blest thing.” Designed by Jeff Rathermel and Todd Thyberg, every-blest-thing-seeing eye presents poetry and prose by Erdrich alongside illustrations by Jim Denomie, Aza Erdrich, Eric Gansworth, Dyani White Hawk, Louise Erdrich, Andrea Carlson, and Jonathan Thunder.

Heid E. Erdrich. every-blest-thing-seeing eye. Minneapolis: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2016.

The accordion book unfolded and viewed from above.

Title panels with a black and white illustration of an animal head with a yellow eye.

Interior view of the book, with text alongside black, white, and yellow illustrations of abstract faces, a woman, and a bear, among others.

Interior pages with text and an illustration of a woman with a bird on her shoulder. Images of eyes appear on her skirt, belt, and elsewhere.

Interior pages with text, horizontal gold lines, and three images of a bee.

Colophon with a black, white, and gold illustration of an animal head.